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College Point Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter for Killing Uber Driver in April 2016 Crash on LIE

Bonifacio Enriquez was intoxicated when he hit and killed driver standing outside his vehicle

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a College Point man pleaded guilty today for his role in an April 2016 fatal crash in which the defendant struck and killed an Uber driver who was stopped on the Long Island Expressway.

Bonifacio Enriquez, 36, pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy to the top count charge of Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree (a C felony) and Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol (an unclassified misdemeanor). The NCDA recommended a sentence of 3-9 years in consultation with the family of the victim, Roohul Ameen. The defendant is due back for sentencing on September 12, 2017.

“A motorist tending to a disabled vehicle should not have to fear for his life because of the intoxication and recklessness of a fellow driver,” DA Singas said. “I am saddened by the senseless and preventable death of Roohul Ameen who was an innocent and hard-working father driving home to his family, and I hope that this guilty plea will provide some small comfort to his loved ones.”

DA Singas said that at approximately 2:05 a.m. on April 7, 2016, victim Roohul Ameen, 43, was driving a black 2013 Toyota Camry eastbound on the Long Island Expressway near exit 41 in the HOV lane. The front bumper of the victim’s car became dislodged. Ameen stopped and exited his vehicle, and attempted to reattach the bumper.

Enriquez was intoxicated that night with a BAC calculated to be at least .12. He drove eastbound in the HOV lane on the LIE in a gold 2010 Ford Escape with two passengers.

The defendant drove at a consistent 69 mph as he approached the victim’s vehicle which was disabled in a straight portion of the roadway and the surrounding traffic was light. Mr. Ameen’s vehicle had its hazard lights on. A half second before impact Enriquez tried to pass the vehicle on the left, attempting to drive between the Camry and the concrete median. The Escape struck the victim’s vehicle on the rear driver’s side panel, continued forward and struck the victim, who was thrown into the left lane and killed.

The defendant was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department and later arraigned at Nassau University Medical Center.

Deputy Chief Michael Bushwack and Assistant District Attorney Patrick Brand of DA Singas’ Vehicular Crimes Bureau are prosecuting the case. Enriquez is represented by Todd Greenberg and George Grasso, Esqs.